Pupils from Hagbourne C of E Primary School have been given the opportunity to get their hands dirty and enjoy outdoor play with a difference, thanks to the donation of a mud kitchen from regional housebuilder Deanfield Homes.

The pupils, aged between four and seven, have been getting creative and developing their very own mud recipes to help aid their development and connect with the great outdoors. The complete life-like kitchen fits perfectly into the primary school’s outdoor play area and offers children the chance to experiment using a combination of mud, water and sand.

The kitchen has been made by local social enterprise RAW, using leftover wood that has been collected from construction sites across the Oxfordshire area such as the Deanfield Green development in East Hagbourne.

RAW is an Oxford-based social enterprise that helps businesses to create life-changing social and environment impact through its waste wood recycling service and by making high quality, sustainable furniture. Supporting those who have faced previous challenges in life, RAW also provides employment, skills and training, with 75% of its workforce having fought, and won, against issues such as addiction, criminality, poor mental health and homelessness.

For every order received, the money is invested back into RAW to employ and train more adults and young people in the community. The donation of the mud kitchen from Deanfield Homes generated six social impact hours which will be used to provide further employment and training.

Annette Gaskell, Sales & Marketing Manager at Deanfield Homes, said: “We are delighted to have been able to provide the mud kitchen to the children at Hagbourne Primary School and know it will be well used, especially as we move into the summer months. We’re delighted to continue our partnership with RAW which sees us use its recycling services on all our developments and support the local communities in which we build.”

Nicola Dobson, Headteacher at Hagbourne Primary School said: “We are over the moon with the mud kitchen kindly donated by Deanfield Homes. The children love it and learning through play doesn’t get much more hands-on than this! It’s a fantastic way to benefit a child’s physical and personal development and to teach them about how materials can be recycled. It’s wonderful to be supported by a local business and we are very grateful to Deanfield Homes for this generous donation.”

Deanfield Green is a collection of traditional homes, situated on the outskirts of East Hagbourne, offering homebuyers a semi-rural location with access to good local amenities. The development highlights the thoughtful design and high-quality build seen in all Deanfield properties.

Currently available is a range of two to five-bedroom properties with prices starting from £390,000. For further information, or to arrange to view the newly opened show home, visit the marketing suite which is open Thursday through to Monday from 10am – 5pm or alternatively visit www.deanfieldhomes.co.uk/deanfield-green or call 01865 269010.